A lot of advice, in fact. The author of Real Life Kitchens (Clarkson Potter, $40), Peterson is a decorator and mother of four who understands that sink fashions come and go, tumbled marbles wax and wane, and restaurant stoves are hot only in some spaces.

"Start evaluating, looking, thinking, dreaming long, long before you even have a plan to renovate," Peterson says. "That way, you'll have time to 'get over it,' whether it is bin pulls, mosaic glass, or whatever it is that you are seeing everywhere and thinking you want."

She believes in doing your homework the classic way. Assemble a tear-sheet file with pictures of kitchens you love. As you clip and save, themes emerge, perhaps ones you didn't expect.

For instance, you might discover that your heart skips a beat when you see pewter hardware. Or that the key to the kitchens you love is the simplicity of white. The design elements that connect your kitchen collection are the elements you'll love.

"You don't want to wake up in five years and wonder, 'What was I thinking?' " Peterson says. "A kitchen takes time to gestate."

While you're waiting, unclutter your current kitchen. Donate the breadmaker you never use to the Salvation Army. Send the Christmas cookie cutters and the lobster pot to the basement. You'll be surprised how a clean sweep can change the character of a kitchen.

If you're looking for more space, check inside your cabinets. Peterson recently redid hers with lazy Susans (the salt is now a swivel away from the sugar), drawer organizers, and pull-out wire baskets for cleaning supplies.

"The satisfaction I felt was disproportionate to the expense," she reports. "I love the results."

Peterson has lived in her Westchester County, N.Y., home for 15 years and still has the 47-year-old solid oak cabinets that came with the house. Usually, she loves to remodel - the kitchen in her last home was on the cover of House Beautiful twice - but Peterson respects quality. Rather than replace perfectly good cabinets, she updated them with new moldings and a dark coat of ebony stain.

Another quick fix: Add task lighting under your cabinets - just make sure you hide them behind a valance so they don't create glare. Hang a chandelier or a beautiful fixture, and bring in a table lamp if you can. Be sure to put your fixtures on a dimmer, and use three-way bulbs for mood lighting.

Of course, the best sort of light is natural, from a skylight or a window with a sweeping view of the lawn. In her own kitchen, Peterson took down a wall of cabinets and added a window - "a small sacrifice to make."

If you're in the market for new appliances, Peterson has good news. New "rationally sized," energy-efficient options will free up your budget and floor space. Gone from the must-have list are the Viking 60-inch range and the stainless-steel Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer, which Peterson says "cost more than the car we sent our son to college with."

It's just this sort of real-life conversation that makes you want to have Real Life Kitchens at your side - whether you're renovating now or just dreaming of things to come.